Little is known of the identity of the
hundreds of artists who created copies, pastiches, or other spurious
artwork in the millenia preceding the nineteenth century. It was
only after the discovery of modern scientific methods of forgery
detection in the past hundred years that it was discovered that
a huge part of what had been acepted as original antiquarian work
was of questionable origin.

Some
of the more famous of this past century's art forgers, who were
detected and identified in one way or another, are summarized
here with examples of some of their most notorious work.

ALCEO DOSSENA

One
of the greatest master forgers of all time was the Italian sculptor
Alceo Dossena (1878-1936). Dossena did not deliberately set out
to copy ancient works, but he was so adept at using the techniques
of ancient Greek, medieval, and Renaissance sculptors that many
of his works were bought up by numerous collectors and curators
who were convinced that they were authentic antiquities. Two of
his relief sculptures, both entitled Virgin and Child, are in
the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, in a separate gallery
reserved for museum-quality forgeries.

ABOVE LEFT: Madonna by Dossena - a wood carving based
on the work of Simone Martini. Experts questioned the work on
the basis of both the pose and the drapery on the figure.

ABOVE RIGHT: Four of the sculptural works of the forger Alceo
Dossena, which show his incredible capacity for copying any style,
from Greek to Etruscan, from Sienese to that of Donatello.

Lothar
Malskat was a restorer who was commissioned to work on deteriorating
Medieval frescoes in two European cathedrals. Instead of restoring
the existing works, he found it easier to simply whitewash over
the existing paintings and repaint completely new works on the
walls. The project was carried out under the utmost secrecy, and
managed to defy detection by the most notable art experts and
government officials for years.

State-wide
celebrations were held in his honor, and his fraud was only discovered
after it was noticed that he had incorporated certain historical
inconsistencies into his newly created Medieval works.
These included an image of a turkey, a fowl which had not been
introduced into Europe until much later in history, and images
of both his sister and of a contemporary film actress into his
compositions.

ABOVE LEFT: View of the celestial loft of the cathedral where
Malskatt painted his forgeries of Medieval religious figures.

ABOVE RIGHT: Prior to their being revealed as fakes, Malskats
forged restorations at Lübeck were revered by
luminaries of the State and the art world alike. Among the dignitaries
present at the Seven-hundredth Anniversary celebrations of the
founding of the Marienkirche of Lübeck are the Federal
Chancellor, Dr. Konrad Adenauer, on the right, with Lothar Malskat.
Left center are Minister President Lübke and Waldemar Krupt.Savage, George. Forgeries, Fakes and Reproductions.
London, Barrie & Rockliff, 1963

ABOVE LEFT: The anachronistic turkey that Malskatt incorporated
into his supposedly Medieval frescoes. The bird hadn't
been introduced into Europe until much later in history.

ABOVE RIGHT: Head from the Schleswig Cathedral frescoes by
Lothar Malskat modelled on his sister, Frieda. Nobody questioned
her rather modern hat.

ABOVE LEFT: The scene in court in October 1954 when forged
easel-paintings by Malskat were first discussed publicly. The
picture in the foreground appears to be a forgery of the work
of Marc Chagall.

ABOVE CENTER: Forged paintings by Malskat. Nude in the style
of Toulouse-Lautrec, and another painting in the style of Chagall.
These were both exhibited in Essen as examples of his forgeries.

ABOVE RIGHT: Lothar Malskat painted decorations for the Tre
Kronor Inn, Stockholm. After his release from prison, Malskat
arranged an exhibition of his paintings in a number of towns in
North Germany to show his merits as an artist. He calls his style,
which he used as a restorer of North German Gothic
paintings, Impressionist - Expressionist.

Special
thanks to people without whom this exhibition would not have been
possible: Thea Eichler, NRCA; Billie Tucker, New Rochelle Library;
Ivar Hyden, Backstreet Gallery and all the contributing artists.

Additional
information about the availability of Fabulous Fakes, the
History of Art Forgery or any of the works in the exhibition
may be obtained by contacting The New Rochelle Council on The
Arts by email or by
calling 212-529-2025. More information on the NRCA can
be found by connecting to the internet and clicking here.